In Focus
Quinsin Nachoff is a composer and saxophonist who writes for ensembles ranging from jazz groups to chamber orchestra, often shaping the music around specific performers. Based in Brooklyn and originally from Toronto, his recent work includes long-term collaborations with scientists and filmmakers, alongside concert and chamber projects.
Patterns From Nature
Music, film, and physics converge in Patterns from Nature, developed with physicist Stephen Morris and filmmakers Tina de Groot, Lee Hutzulak, Gita Blak, and Udo Prinsen. Rather than illustrating science, the project uses physical processes as a shared framework for shaping musical and visual form.
Four movements—Branches, Flow, Cracks, and Ripples—respond to different natural forces. Music and image were developed in parallel through experiments and ongoing exchange, allowing form to emerge through collaboration.
Chamber orchestra with featured soloists · Studio album, standalone film, and multimedia performance
Featured soloists:
pianist Matt Mitchell · Molinari String Quartet · percussionist Satoshi Takeishi · bassist Carlo De Rosa · clarinetist François Houle · trombonist Ryan Keberle · saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff
Premiered at Hunter College (New York) and Isabel Bader Theatre (Toronto), 2023
Album release: February 27, 2026 on Whirlwind Recordings
Pre-order →
Stars and Constellations (Adyâropa Records, 2023) features Nachoff on tenor saxophone with bassist Mark Helias and drummer Dan Weiss, joined by the Bergamot Quartet and The Rhythm Method string quartet on Pendulum. Three extended compositions—Scorpio, Pendulum, and Sagittarius—combine composed and improvised material, drawing on mythology and the physics of motion.
“Finding an exceptional connection between improvisation and notated music, Nachoff continues to forge a path of his own, moving in a revelatory line of action that separates him from other creatives.”
— Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail
Pivotal Arc (Whirlwind Recordings, 2020) comprises three long-form works: a Violin Concerto, a String Quartet, and a large ensemble piece. Written for violinist Nathalie Bonin and the Molinari String Quartet, the album features bassist Mark Helias, percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, vibraphonist Michael Davidson, and a wind and string ensemble conducted by JC Sanford.
Flux features alto saxophonist David Binney, pianist Matt Mitchell, and drummers Kenny Wollesen and Nate Wood. The group’s JUNO-nominated double album Path of Totality (Whirlwind Recordings, 2019) received a 4.5-star review in DownBeat, which described it as “a stunning, deep dive of an album.” The music moves between structured composition and open improvisation across extended forms.
Explore other albums
Ethereal Trio (with Mark Helias and Dan Weiss)
Flux Debut
Horizons Ensemble (with John Taylor and Ernst Reijseger)
Have a look at
Score Books